Dr Ina Linge has been nominated for a Public Engagement with Research Award for her work on the Sex in Six Objects project.
As the organiser of the Sex in Six Objects project, Dr Ina Linge curates a series of workshops using objects from the history of sexuality to engage young people on contemporary issues of gender and sexuality. The objects cover an impressive historical range, from an ancient Roman pot with phallic imagery to the educational board game 'AIDS and You' from the 1980s and the first test-at-home pregnancy kit from the 1970s. These workshops aim to cover topics that go beyond traditional relationship and sex education (RSE), such as sexual consent, sexual diversity, and bodily autonomy. Talking about the history of pregnancy testing and the backlash against test-at-home kits, for example, led to conversations about access to contraception and abortion throughout the ages as well as women’s bodily autonomy today. Workshop participants, ranging from undergraduate students at the University of Cambridge to students from local sixth-forms, described the events as “interactive, dynamic, and open” and found the “interactive objects to inspire thoughts and conversation”.
Ina's public engagement activities build on her own academic research on the art, literature and material culture from the history of sexuality. For the Sex in Six Objects project she brings together a radically diverse group of researchers, from statisticians to literary scholars and historians of race and sexuality. Ina also involved local charities and museums, such as the LGBT youth charity SexYOUality and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, in the planning of the workshops. The Sex in Six Objects project has been featured in the Daily Mail, Huffington Post, the Cambridge News and the University of Cambridge press releases.
You can find out more about the project on the website www.sexinsixobjects.com, which regularly publishes blog-posts about the events. The website also serves as a lasting resource for educators, RSE teachers and workshop facilitators and supports future public engagement work in this area. Get in touch if you would like to find out more!
